LONDON -- Ten U.K. ISPs have been ordered by the country's high court to disclose the personal information of 150 suspected file-sharers of copyrighted software.

The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), the British Computer Society's copyright committee, said Tuesday that it instituted a year-long undercover operation to try and root out the offending parties. The ISPs -- including Tiscali, British Telecom, Telewest and NTL -- will be required to hand over personal details including names, addresses and dates of birth.

According to FAST, the operation represents a step up from the normal U.K. practice of simply ordering offending sites to be taken down. FAST will seek to learn the confidential details of the users in order to bring criminal or civil cases against them, a strategy used by industry groups in the U.S. and elsewhere to file cases against suspected copyright violators.

Operation Tracker was aided by an undercover IT operative specializing in forensics, FAST said.

FAST issued statements on the ruling late Monday and on Tuesday, in the wake of the Friday ruling issued by the High Court. "The progress we made on Friday is only the first wave of an ongoing strategy," Julian Heathcote Hobbins, senior legal counsel at FAST, said in a statement. "We expect to be bringing these actions anytime and anywhere we see software being misused."

FAST will be working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service once the individuals have been identified, the organization said. Penalties for illegal communication to the public of copyright works, including software, are punishable by up to two years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.